


Can't Be The Only One

by LaPetiteLouve



Series: Familia Ante Omnia [8]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Fluff, Gen, Insecurity, Pack Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:28:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22642153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaPetiteLouve/pseuds/LaPetiteLouve
Summary: Stromer's in a slump, has been for a while.  How long before Chicago becomes the next Arizona?  At least an old friend can bring some relief and quiet the insecurities.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Familia Ante Omnia [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549498
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Can't Be The Only One

**Author's Note:**

> this is kinda short. yea. might rewrite it, might not. also, i'm being vague about the destrome(?) relationship on purpose.

Dylan sighed in relief as Coach blew the whistle. He skated up to Coach and waited as he finished chatting with Jonny. “Hey, I’m gonna stay for another fifteen minutes. Just to cool down, so uh, yeah,” Dylan cringed internally. 

“Sure. You want me to wait for you?” Jonny asked, leaning against his stick casually. 

“No! Erm, no, it’s cool. I just. I kinda just wanna take my time to cool down, I don’t want to keep you waiting. Didn’t Kaner say he wanted to go out for lunch? I think he said that, maybe you should go with,” Dylan rambled nervously. He stopped himself and swallowed thickly. “I can get a ride home,” he finished, stiffening under Jonny’s curious gaze. 

“Okay,” he shrugged. 

“Good work today, Stromer. Don’t overwork yourself,” Coach nodded, following Jonny off the ice. 

Dylan exhaled as they disappeared from sight. He skated to the goal line and scraped the ice with his skates lightly. He breathed deep once and took off, pushing on his edges. He sprinted down the ice. Blue line, back, red line, back, far blue line, back, goal line to goal line. He skidded to a stop, snow collecting on the boards. Dylan heaved and coughed into his elbow. He circled around the net a few times and started again. Blue line, back, red line, back, far blue line, back, goal line, goal line. Dylan pushed himself faster, harder. His left caught a nick on the ice, sent him crashing to the ice. Dylan spun out of control, instinct bracing himself for impact. He slammed against the boards and laid there, heaving roughly. He sat up and settled on his knees, heart thundering away in his chest. “Fuck. Okay, fuck. That happened. That’s not good. Oh God,” Dylan leaned forward and shut his eyes tightly. _It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s fine. I’ll be okay._ He forced his breaths to even out. _What if they send me down? What if I get traded back to Arizona? What if I can’t be good enough? What if they don’t extend me? What would Alex think?_

“Hey.”

Dylan yelped. He scrambled to his skates and loomed over Alex. “What are you doing? Why are you on the ice?” He looked down, staring at Alex’s jeans and his skates. 

“I dunno. Was gonna skate a couple lazy laps while you hurried your ass up. Saw you fall, figured you’d be done now,” Alex shrugged, hands tucked in his pockets. “So, are you ready to go?”

“No,” Stromer blinked at him owlishly. 

“Are you being dumb with me? It feels like your being dumb with me,” Alex asked patiently. 

“I’m not being dumb. You’re being dumb,” Dylan retorted. 

“You’re being very mature,” Alex raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. 

Dylan mimicked him fondly, even crouched down for emphasis. Alex made things easy. Made things simple. Always has, always will. _Can’t make things easy for you if you’re not on the same team as him anymore._ Dylan gulped and shook his head. 

“Dude,” Alex sighed, a little exasperated, a little worried. “What’s going on with you?”

Dylan never wanted to worry Alex. He never wanted to worry anyone. Worrying people made him even more worried. “Nothing,” he said. 

Alex rolled his eyes and snagged Dylan’s arm. He hauled Dylan off the ice and shoved him into the empty locker room. “Get undressed and get in the shower. I’m going to go clean up the pucks. I swear to God Dyl, don’t fuck with me now.”

Dylan stared with wide eyes as Alex yanked the door open. He chewed his lip, fingers shaking as he picked at the Velcro straps. He quickly undressed and hurried over to the showers. He stepped in a cubicle and stood under the stream. Hot water washed the sweat off. Dylan felt his shoulders drop. He braced his hands against the tile, water flattening his curls to his forehead and neck. He closed his eyes, standing under the water. It felt nice. Too nice. Too good for what he deserved. Dylan twisted the knob and gritted his teeth. Icy water splattered against his skin, raising goosebumps. It reminded him of the days in Arizona. 

Dylan used to stand in the rain, just to feel some cold in the perpetual heat. Used to regret it the day after, when the humidity would spike. It never rained often. Rarely snowed. Dylan’s Canadian. Dylan’s a hockey player. Ice Hockey. He’s not built for the sweltering heat of the desert. _Better get ready, who knows where you’ll be playing next. Maybe in Vegas. Maybe Florida._

Spooked, Dylan shut the water off. He shivered, the chilly air prickling the water on his skin. He grabbed a towel and scrubbed himself dry. The friction helped warm him up a bit. He toweled through his hair and wrapped the towel around his waist. He shuffled back to his locker room. He watched Alex out of the corner of his eye as he changed. Watched as Alex paced around in a circle, thumb tapping the phone screen rapidly. Dylan kept his gaze to himself and focused on getting dressed. Alex didn’t deserve to wait anymore than he already had. 

Dylan managed to avoid Alex’s persistence throughout the ride home. He burst into the house and hurried upstairs to their room. Just his luck, they shared a room, since it saved space and they were pretty used to each other. Dylan panicked and scrambled into Drake’s room. “I just. I’m not here. Uh, I... no one knows I’m here. I don’t exist for the time being,” Dylan explained, sitting on the carpet between Drake and Shawzy’s beds. 

“Sure, Dude,” Drake turned back to his iPad, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

Dylan sighed and tipped his head back, resting it against the nightstand. Drake could always be counted on. Dependable, knew when to pry and when to back off. Dylan appreciated that about him. But, if Shawzy saw, he’d never live it down, so he’s not completely in the clear. 

“Hey,” Alex pushed the door aside. “Hey Drake, seen Stromer around? He’s being squirrelly.”

“Dunno. Maybe the backyard?” Drake suggested. 

Drake was too underappreciated. Dylan sunk a little lower as Alex sighed. He exhaled softly when Alex closed the door again and sat up. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Dylan pulled it out and frowned at the texts from Davo. 

_brinks told me ur being dumb_

_either talk to him or me_

_actually call me back, right now._

Dylan shoved his phone back in his pocket and tugged his knees to his chest. He ignored Drake’s glance and kept his gaze trained straight ahead. He just needed this day to be over. He needed a goal, an assist, some points, the guilt to go away, the insecurities to stop. He needed the voices in his head to stop telling him things he knew were false. 

Drake’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He paused as he picked it up. Drake answered the call, leaning against the headboard of the bed. “Hey Davo, what’s up? Yeah, he’s here. Wanna talk to him and give him some captainly advice?” Drake laughed. “Funny Davo, but still not quite Tazer. Yeah, sure. Just say hi to Drai and the team for me. Here,” Drake waved his phone in Dylan’s face. “No one says no to The Next One for long. Whatever it is, just get him off your case.”

Dylan wanted to take back everything nice he ever said about Drake. He accepted the phone and held the device to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hey Stromer, how’s it going?” Davo nonchalantly responded. “Stuck in a bit of a drought, eh?”

“Yeah,” Dylan whispered, afraid to admit it. He glanced up at Drake and noticed the headphones. So maybe he didn’t give him enough credit. “Yeah,” he answered again, a little louder. 

“These things happen to everyone,” Davo continued. “Brinks has been in a slump for a while too.”

“Yeah, but he just broke it against Boston, a wrist shot on the powerplay,” Dylan frowned. 

“He broke it. That’s all that matters. You know he was frustrated. You think he doesn’t understand what you’re going through?” Davo reasoned. 

“Spooky,” Dylan absently answered. Davo kind of reminded him of Jonny, eerie. Ha, Eerie. 

“Stay with me Bud,” Davo said. “Listen, you are going to break your slump, you’re going to get through it. You’re going to be great. You just have to keep pushing and let it happen. You need to believe in yourself.”

“Oh fun,” Dylan deadpanned. 

“Are you listening to me?” Davo huffed. 

“I am!” Dylan claimed. “Are you listening to me?”

“Trying to.”

Dylan pouted. “I just. I don’t want Chicago to be like Arizona. I don’t… I don’t want to be traded. This is my home, this is pack! But, I need to start scoring and producing and doing something and I’m just not and I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to wait because if I wait I might be traded and I don’t want that.” 

“I really don’t think you’re going to be traded any time soon,” Davo calmed. “Try not to worry about it. Yes, it’s good to score and produce, but focus on the little things, back check, block shots, show your coach that you want to be there and the goals and points will come and you’ll back and wonder how it took you so long.” 

“Wow, Edmonton really matured you,” Dylan commented. 

“And Arizona really scarred you,” Davo replied. He paused. “Sorry. That was, I shouldn’t have said that. But it’s okay because Chicago isn’t Arizona and never will be.”

“Even though we make all our trades there?”

“Even though you make all your trades there,” Davo confirmed. “Now go apologize to Brinks and tell him to call someone else to sort out his issues. I gotta go, I’ll talk to you later, Dyls.” 

“Bye,” Dylan hung up and slid Drake’s phone back on the nightstand. 

Drake slid the headphones back. “All good?” he asked. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Dylan nodded, slightly comforted. 

“Great. Okay, go away and go bother someone else,” Drake cheekily grinned. 

Dylan stood up and flipped him off. He shuffled downstairs and checked the living room and kitchen for Alex. He found Jonny in the kitchen, standing by the stove. “Hey, have you seen Alex?”

“I think he went to The Burrow,” Jonny lowered the knife and lowered the chicken into the marinade. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope,” Dylan shook his head, offering Jonny a thumb’s up. 

“You’ve been really jittery all day. I was just curious. Also Alex has been asking about you a lot,” Jonny shrugged. “Whatever it is, you’re going to get through it. And you don’t have to go through it alone.” 

Jonny really does have a sixth sense when the pack is involved. Dylan briefly wondered if he would ever develop that. “I’m okay, would like to score a little more, but I’m okay. I’m gonna go find Alex.”

Jonny nodded. “I’ll send the rookies to find you two when we’re ready to eat.” 

Yeah, Dylan loved this pack. “Thanks Jonny.” He jogged to the living room and quickly stripped. He dumped his clothes in the bin, covering Alex’s. He closed the backdoor behind him and shifted. He trotted through the territory, tongue lolling out. He glanced around, watching the leaves rustle in the gentle wind. Calming. Earlier, it would have annoyed him for no reason. Dylan paused and snorted. Even in a different country, Davo’s still looking out for him. 

Dylan approached The Burrow and hesitated. He swallowed and steeled himself before wiggling his way into the cave. He hesitated in the entrance. _“Brinks?”_

A lump twitched in the corner, a pair of bright blue eyes pierced the darkness. _“Hey,”_ Alex answered warily. 

_“I’m sorry for being a jerk. I’ve been worried about my point slump and it wasn’t easier in Arizona. And I don’t want that to happen again, here. Because this is home. I love Chicago, I love playing here, I love playing with you. I took it out on you and it wasn’t fair to you and it wasn’t Davo’s job to come get me out of my mood. Also, he said not to call him with your issues anymore, but he’s Davo, he gets annoyed when he’s not kept in the loop, so ignore him.”_

_“Quit your rambling and get over here,”_ Alex chuckled. 

Dylan darted over and flopped on Alex. _“Sorry.”_

_“It’s fine, just… we can handle it better,”_ Alex shrugged under him. _“Are you okay? That fall looked scary. And you just kinda sat there.” _

_“Huh? Oh yeah, just… thinking.”_

_“Hm, dangerous,”_ Alex snickered. 

_“Mean, Kit,”_ Dylan frowned. He rolled off Alex and yawned. _“I’m tired.”_

_“Take a nap, I’m not going anywhere,”_ Alex murmured. Alex edged closer to Dylan and rested his head on his back. 

Dylan smiled to himself and nestled closer, content to nap, surrounded by Alex’s strong scent and the mixed, faded scents of the pack. 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked it!


End file.
